Moose Killed by Poacher in West Yellowstone

Three moose in West Yellowstone fell victim to a poacher at the end of October, reported the West Yellowstone News.

Officials deduced that the trio—a cow, bull and young adult—were eating in the Antelope Basin aspen grove roughly 50 feet from the road when they were shot and killed. The hunter made no effort to salvage the meat, instead leaving the three carcasses there to rot.

“There is no way this is anything but a deliberate criminal act,” Game Warden Jim Smolcynski told the newspaper. “This person is not a sportsman or a hunter – this person is a criminal out to destroy Montana wildlife.”

FWP biologist Julie Cunningham agrees with Smolcynski’s opinion.

“This is not just a sad waste of these three animals,” she said in a prepared statement. “It’s a blow to the population and its future.”

Those with information about the shooter can contact Warden Smolcynski at (406) 581-6231 or TIP MONT at (800) 847-6668.

13 Responses

This is horrible! I hope you catch the jerks that are responsible for this! Moose are my very favorite animal. I was in West Yellowstone this past July and will never forget the beautiful scenery and majestic animals. Whoever did this needs to be caught so my children and grandchildren will someday go see what I have seen.

I was lucky enough to see 1 moose off in the distance when we were out there in October. They are few and far between. To have someone do this is incredibly cruel and just downright hateful! Unfortunately someone like this has started with small animals, probably pets and progressed from there. Not long until humans are the next “game”. I sure hope they find this person and send them to prison!!

If someone were truly hungry, I would not turn one in for harvesting an animal. BUT this is not the case. They shot THREE animals of a size that the regular person does not have freezer space to accomodate. It was not an act to feed a family but seems more like a joy ride. Prosecution, upon apprehension, should be swift and of a grave consequence. This act is despicable. GOD Bless C W

They need to catch this person and throw away the key. If you could hurt these animals unprovoked they could do a lot worse. What a waste of life. I visited Wyoming this summer and I am in love with this area. Animals don’t deserve this

What is the purpose for anyone taking a gun into a national Park? It would seem like it was either to kill an animal or kill a human. If you think you need to carry a gun in a National Park for protection, then you should stay away from national parks, you old scardy cat!

At least the wolves that take these animals down do so for food. There is no excuse for someone who is supposed to have a higher intelligence level to extinguish the life of such a beautiful and harmless beast and leave it to rot. The individual/individuals must certainly be plainly vicious and without conscience. They deserve to be placed on the bottom of the food chain!

When I lived in Bozeman back in 1979 there was a continual joke about West Yellowstone being the poaching capital of America. Still true 33 years later. It’s a joke to blame the NRA, guns, gun laws … lets just blame the criminals. Folks with licenses to carry a concealed weapon have been trained, fingerprinted, had their backgrounds examined, etc … and are nearly 99.9% NOT the problem, ever. Lets just blame criminals.